Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Per WTVR, NASCAR driver and Chesterfield native Denny Hamlin announced Wednesday his foundation, the Denny Hamlin Foundation, would give $150,000 to Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

The money will pay for cystic fibrosis research and clinical trials in Richmond.

“This is a big day for the Denny Hamlin Foundation,” Hamlin said in a statement. “It is exactly what I envisioned the foundation doing when I started it five years ago, and we’ve worked hard to get to a point where we can give this kind of gift.”

Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease that affects about 30,000 children and adults in the United States and about 70,000 worldwide, according to a statement from the hospital. There is no cure for the disease.

“This generous donation will help accelerate our ability to bring these therapies to our patients, and the newly established Denny Hamlin Foundation Summer Scholars program will help us train the next generation of CF research scientists,” said Bruce Rubin, M.D., professor and chair of the VCU Department of Pediatrics and physician-in-chief of Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.

Hamlin, whose cousin has the disease, organized The Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown to raise money for his foundation. The race is April 26 at Richmond International Raceway.